Failure Is Not An Option! (rebirth redux)

As always, it’s been tough to find the time to update the blog. I really left you with quite a cliffhanger in my last post, so I thought I’d drop this quick teaser shot of the new Z (!) and update where the project stands.

The good news is my stitches are out and I’m healed enough to be back to work professionally (and personally with the build). I’m still not 100% – but every day my arm heals a bit more and I’m almost back to business as usual. The few weeks of mandatory rest were a welcome break from the [self imposed] insanity, and really allowed me to put a lot into perspective. I’d like to say thank you to all the people who reached out to me through the blog and various forums after my Escalation of Commitment post, your words of encouragement and advice were much appreciated.

I decided fairly quickly that I would continue with the project in some form or another, but initially planned to take the winter off – pay down some debt – and wait till spring to decide where to go from there. With all the down time (and boredom that ensued), I inevitably started scanning various online publications for Z’s, and quickly became discouraged (again) with what was out there.

These cars are now 20+ years old, and really showing their age. The elusive “mint condition” shell I required, and many seemed to think was easily obtainable for $1500 (or less), was nowhere to be found.

Rust, shoddy body work, and bad paint/resprays were the norm (and people were asking ridiculous money for cars in that condition). Then I stumbled on this 93 NA 2+2 Auto – a 2 owner car that was all original (not even an aftermarket air filter), well maintained, and located about an hour and a half away from me.

It was more than I was looking to spend (and had a few small issues), but overall a solid RUNNING 300zx – something I could drive while my arm healed, and a great starting platform for my track buildup. After some back and forth with the seller, we settled on a purchase price and I pulled the trigger.

My plan is to focus on areas like the suspension (installing all the SPL suspension components over the winter), while saving/purchasing/prepping all the necessary components for the Twin Turbo/5 speed swap in the spring. (Full writeup on the car and it’s condition in an upcoming post.)

I can’t tell you how good it feels to be driving a Z again! Even if it is a non turbo automatic. I WILL be on the track come 2013, failure is not an option! A lot more to come… stay tuned!